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Since the film Rocky Balboa is coming out, a look at the original film that started the phenomena thirty years ago is warranted. Rocky is the basic underdog-whose-day-in-the-sun-finally-arrives kind of story. As most know, star and writer Sylvester Stallone wrote this when he was a struggling unknown actor. After finally getting the script greenlighted part of the deal was that he star in the film as the title character. It was a move that paid off for Stallone and the film since one is hard-pressed to think of who could have played the lovable pug back in that day. Ryan O'Neal, James Caan and other big names were considered but it's doubtful they could have brought the right kind of simple introspection that Stallone did, and the character's metamorphosis would not have being as compelling with a known actor.

The film opens in a seedy ring in Philadelphia as Rocky Balboa dukes it out with another no-name fighter. Following the fight the viewer sees what a pathetic life Rocky lives, earning practically nothing for the fight and being subjected to dirty fight tricks. He lives by himself in a dive of a studio, and makes his main living as a thug for a loan shark. He is looked down upon by others as shown in one scene where he escorts a young girl back to her place and tries to talk to her about not hanging out with a bad crowd. Her only remark to him at the end of his dialogue is "You're a bum." He is going nowhere fast. In these scenes the viewer is introduced to other important characters: his best friend Paulie (Burt Young), a drunken and surly meat plant worker, his dowdy old-maid sister Adrian (Talia Shire) who shares a mutual attraction with Rocky but is too shy and insecure to act, Mickey (Burgess Meredith), who runs the boxing gym where Rocky works out in and Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), the heavyweight boxing champion of the world. All four will have an important impact on Rocky's life.

As Rocky goes through the motions of his sad existence, Apollo Creed faces a situation. A bout with an opponent has to be canceled due to an injury on the opponent's part. Creed, who is modeled on Muhammed Ali with his outspoken behavior and riches, doesn't want to lose money on a canceled fight so he literally picks a name out of a book at random and it happens to be Rocky Balboa. To him who he fights is unimportant, he wanted the show to go on and at the same time take out an easy opponent. Sort of what Mike Tyson has been doing for years. Rocky gets an offer to come to Creed's office and is expecting a job as a sparring partner but is shocked when he's offered the title bout. He even tries to turn it down knowing he's not in Creed's league but he decides to take the shot anyway convinced that the fight is a joke.

Slowly but surely things start to turn around for him. Even though he expects Creed to easily win the fight Rocky starts to gain some confidence, people start treating him better. Even Mickey, who probably had the greatest contempt for him out of everyone in the film, tries to get on his good side. It seems kind of selfish if thought about. Earlier in the movie, Mickey gave away Rocky's locker at the gym since he was convinced that Rocky had blown his potential and wasn't worth training. Upon hearing about the title match, Mickey visits Rocky at his studio and practically pleads with him to be his manager. This shows how desperate these men are who will jump at any chance for redemption. Then come some of the most poignant moments in the film as Rocky takes out his pent-up rage about his life and how he's been treated out on Mickey. There are some genuine tender moments that follow which are helped by a soulful piano solo and cinematography that has the two making amends at an extreme long shot where the viewer cannot hear their dialogue.

At the same time, Rocky intensifies his pursuit of Adrian albeit in a clumsy manner. Finally the two have a sort-of date at her and Paulie's apartment for Thanksgiving dinner. After Paulie's boorish behavior drives her out, she and Rocky spend time at a closed ice skating rink and later become intimate in his place. These quiet scenes are very heartfelt and are well played by the actors making viewers believe that the two characters are destined for each other.

His training intensifies as his shape improves, culminating in the famous sequence where Rocky triumphantly charges up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art symbolizing that the underdog has risen to the occasion. The iconic music by Bill Conti and the song "Gonna Fly Now" add to the thrill of seeing this would-be champion come into his own. Still the doubts are there. Later he confesses this to Adrian and states he "just wants to go the distance" with Creed. What he does not know is that Creed for obvious reasons isn't taking the fight seriously. He is more focused on peripheral matters like marketing and making deals. Even his trainer tries to get his attention to the potential threat of Rocky after he sees Rocky on TV brutally training in the meat packing plant where Paulie works. But Creed is oblivious which could be his undoing later in the film.

Finally the title match begins and shortly after into the first round Rocky demonstrates that he means business when he succeeds where others failed in knocking down Creed. What follows is one of the most exciting fight scenes ever put on film. Though unrealistic (seriously a fight this intense and bloody would've been stopped) viewers can't help but get caught up in the well-choreographed scenes. The final scene in the film is also very emotional as chaos erupts all over and Rocky and Adrian just try to reach each other. It may be corny to some but it's a testament to the power and joy of love.

The film won several Academy Awards, notably the Best Picture Oscar. Other awards were for Best Director, Editing, Music and Song. Stallone, Shire, Meredith and Young were all honored with acting nominations in what many think of as the highlights of their careers. Today the film is considered to be a classic appearing in many lists of top films. The sequels that followed were successful but aren't as highly regarded, nevertheless this film created a pop culture icon that is still fondly revered by many and the film is one to be seen at least once. - - J.L. Soto